Malnutrition in postacute geriatric care: Basic ESPEN diagnosis and etiology based diagnoses analyzed by length of stay, in-hospital mortality, and functional rehabilitation indexes

• Published in: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics 2017-11, Vol.73, p.169-176
• Main Authors: Sánchez-Rodríguez, Dolores, Marco, Ester, Annweiler, Cédric, Ronquillo-Moreno, Natalia, Tortosa, Andrea, Vázquez-Ibar, Olga, Escalada, Ferran, Duran, Xavier, Muniesa, Josep M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alimentació; ESPEN; Female; Geriatry and gerontology; Health Services for the Aged; Hospital Mortality; Human health and pathology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Length of Stay; Life Sciences; Male; Malnutrició; Malnutrition; Malnutrition - diagnosis; Malnutrition - etiology; Mortalitat; Mortality; Nutrition Assessment; Persones grans; Physical Therapy Modalities; Postacute; Rehabilitation; Sarcopenia - complications; Subacute Care; Weight Loss
• ISSN: 0167-4943; 1872-6976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2017.07.010

•ESPEN consensus, guidelines, and malnutrition diagnostic tree were applied in a postacute geriatric rehabilitation unit.•All patients showed evidence of being “at risk”. A high prevalence of basic malnutrition and malnutrition-related conditions was observed.•A diagnosis of malnutrition was associated with increased risk for poor rehabilitation outcomes, mainly due to unintentional weight loss.•Further research is needed on the relationship of ESPEN consensus definition and guidelines to postdischarge clinical outcomes.•Reaching a valid, efficient, unified, and international definition of malnutrition is essential to counteract this healthcare problem in all geriatric settings. To determine the relationships between malnutrition and nutrition-related conditions according to the European Society of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) consensus and guidelines and clinical outcomes in postacute rehabilitation. Of 102 eligible inpatients, 95 (84.5 years old, 63.2% women) fulfilled inclusion criteria: aged ≥70 years, body mass index 5% in the last year or 2–3kg in the last 6 months. Nineteen fulfilled the ESPEN basic definition, of which 10 had disease-related malnutrition with inflammation and 9 without inflammation, and 20 had cachexia. Sarcopenia (n=44), frailty (n=94), overweight/obesity (n=59), and micronutrient abnormalities (n=70) were frequent. Unintentional weight loss impaired all functional outcomes and increased length of stay [OR=6.04 (2.87–9.22); p